The Study of Population
Introduction to Population Change
What is Human Geography?
• Human Geography is a branch of Geography
that combines the study of economic and
cultural geography to explore the
relationships between humans and their
natural environment, and to track the broad
social patterns that shape human societies.
Immigration
• Movement from somewhere in the world to
Canada (for a period longer than one year).
– Ex. On an average day, 655 people immigrated to
Canada over the course of one year....our rate of
immigration is roughly 0.7%
Emigration
• Movement from Canada to somewhere else
in the world (for a period longer than one
year).
– Ex. On an average day, 107 people emigrated
from Canada over the course of one year...our
emigration rate is roughly 0.2%
Birth Rate (BR)
• The relationship between the number of
births in Canada and the size of the
population. It gives the number of births per
1,000 people in Canada.
– Ex. Canada’s birth rate is roughly 10 births per
1,000 people.
Canadian and American Birth Rates since 1940
Number of births per 1,000 people – The darker green, the more births...
Number of births per female – The darker green, the more children per female...
Death Rate (DR)
• The relationship between the number of
deaths in Canada and the size of the
population. It gives the number of deaths
per 1,000 people in Canada.
– Ex. Canada’s death rate is roughly 7 deaths per
1,000 people.
Number of deaths per 1,000 babies born – The darker red, the more deaths...
Natural Increase Rate
• The Natural Increase Rate (NIR) is the
difference between the number of births per
1,000 people in Canada and the number of
deaths per 1,000 people in Canada.
• Natural Increase Rate = Birth rate – Death
rate
= 10/1000 – 7/1000
= 3/1000
Therefore the NIR for Canada is 0.3 %
Population Change in Canada until 2051
Net Migration Rate
• The Net Migration Rate (NMR) is the
difference between the immigration rate and
the emigration rate.
• Net Migration Rate = Imm. Rate – Emig. Rate
= 7/1000 – 2/1000
= 5/1000
Therefore the Net Migration Rate is 0.5%
World Net Migration Rate
Brown = More Emigration
Green = About Equal
Blue = More Immigration
Population Growth Rate
• The Population Growth Rate (PGR) is the
Natural Increase Rate added together with
the Net Migration Rate
• Population Growth Rate = NIR + NMR
= 3/1000 + 5/1000
= 8/1000
Therefore our Population Growth Rate in
Canada is roughly 0.8%
World Population Growth Rate
Blue / Purple = Small Growth or Declining Population
Light Blue / Green = Steady Growth
Yellow = Rapidly Increasing Population
Doubling Time and the Rule of 70
• Doubling time is as simple as the name
suggests; it is the amount of time is takes a
countries population to double from its
existing amount...
• You can use the Rule of 70 to figure it
out...simply divide 70 by the Population
Growth Rate
• In Canada that is 70/0.8% = 87.5 Years
– Depending on immigration levels that may go up
or down (i.e. It could happen faster than 87.5 yrs)
World Population: ~6,700,000,000 (Feb. ’08)
Population Changes
• There is the assumption that because young
children and the very elderly do not work on
a full-time basis that they will require some
type of public support (for housing,
transportation, education and healthcare).
• The part of the population who needs this
type of support is call the dependency load.
The Dependency Load is Older Adults (65+)
and Children (Under 15)
• Our dependency load is around 31%
Population Pyramids
• Population pyramids are horizontal bar
graphs that represent the portion of the
population that is currently a certain age.
They are split every five (5) years or so and by
male/female characteristics.
• They show the percentage in the horizontal
axis and the amount per age on the vertical
axis.
• Examples of Canada’s population in 1956 and
2004 are shown on Pg. 190 (Fig. 16-4) in your
text.
Population Pyramids
Source: United States Census Bureau, International Database
Population Pyramids
Source: United States Census Bureau, International Database
Population Pyramids
Source: United States Census Bureau, International Database
Changes in Population Structure
• Pyramids can explain a number of different
characteristics of a population over time
– Ex. Post WWII, large number of babies
born...today that group is around 49-60 years-old
– Ex. Shift from young European immigrants Post
WWII to older Asian and Middle Eastern
Immigrants
Changes in Population Structure
• The amount of people at certain age brackets
determines our needs in society
– Ex. In the 1960s we needed elementary schools
for the baby boomers
– Ex. In the 2010s we’ll need healthcare facilities to
take care of those now full grown boomers
Stages of Population Change
• Stage 1
• Many decades ago a high birth rate and high
death rate keeps the population relatively
stable
• Stage 2
• At some point the death rate drops (better
medicine and health care)...that combined
with a higher birth rate causes growth
Stages of Population Change
• Stage 3
• Birth rates drop as the COL rises and
education becomes more important...people
begin waiting longer to have kids and they
have less kids than 75 to 100 years ago.
• Since the end of WWII, the increased number
of women in the workforce has also caused a
dip in the birth rate
Stages of Population Change
• Stage 4
• The birth rate drops off as well as gets closer
to the death rate again (the stages go full
circle)...in Canada we have not yet reached
that point but for many European countries
this has already happened
• The impact is a low NIR and a reliance on
immigration to get population growth...
What are some reasons for this massive population boom?